Dayana Harrison Birth Services

10/28/2025

10/27/2025

If we were your doulas, we'd be recommending these things in your third trimester to begin to prepare your body for labor, improve comfort, and promote optimal fetal positioning. While these things are certainly not the only things you can do to prepare for labor, they are some of our favorites!

10/25/2025

10/24/2025

10/23/2025

👶 Skin-to-skin contact involves placing the naked newborn on the mother’s uncovered chest immediately after birth. This simple practice helps babies adapt to life outside the womb, keeping them warm, reducing stress and crying, and supporting vital functions such as breathing and heart rate.

New Cochrane evidence confirms what many already practice: immediate skin-to-skin contact between newborns and their mothers gives babies a better start in life.

Babies held skin-to-skin within the first hour after birth are more likely to:

🩵 Breastfeed exclusively
🩵 Maintain healthy body temperature and blood sugar
🩵 Breathe and adapt better outside the womb

Importantly, the evidence is now so strong that researchers argue it’s no longer ethical to conduct studies that separate mothers and babies after birth.

“Withholding skin-to-skin contact would now be considered unethical, as there is enough evidence to show that the practice improves newborn health and survival,” says Karin Cadwell, senior author and Executive Director and Lead Faculty of
Healthy Children Project Center for Breastfeeding.

Read more on our website: https://www.cochrane.org/about-us/news/strong-evidence-supports-skin-skin-contact-after-birth-standard-care

10/15/2025

A study in BMC Medicine finds that breastfeeding up to 12 months of age is associated with reduced infection burden and inflammation, as well as differences in metabolomic biomarkers and lipids, mediating much of these beneficial effects.

Link in the comments.

10/15/2025

10/12/2025

10/11/2025

🤰🏾🔮Birth Balls By 🔮🧘🏽‍♀️

Do you use Birth Balls in your hospital?

📖 Positive effects of birthing balls supported by studies -

1. Reduction in labour pain (subjective experience)

• Some systematic reviews and trials also support a statistically significant decrease in pain during the active stage of labour when a birth ball is used.
• A trial among primigravidae (first-time mothers) reported lower VAS pain scores in those who used birthing ball exercises versus controls.
• Another RCT found that birth ball use improved childbirth self-efficacy (i.e. confidence in coping) and reduced pain.

2. Shortening of labour / improved labour progression

• Several studies report that use of a birth ball is associated with shorter first-stage labour, faster cervical dilation, or faster descent of the fetal head.
• A recent meta-analysis (2025) concluded that birthing ball exercises reduce cesarean rates, alleviate labour pain, and shorten the first stage of labour.

3. Increased maternal satisfaction, sense of control, and psychological benefits

• Several studies report that women using a birth ball report greater satisfaction, less anxiety, more sense of control, and empowerment in labour.
• The self-efficacy study (Gau et al.) showed improved confidence in ability to cope with labour.

4. Potential effect on cesarean delivery rates / mode of delivery.

• A 2025 meta-analysis suggests that birth ball exercises may reduce cesarean section rates.

5. Safety and no obvious adverse effects

• Meta-analyses and systematic reviews, generally report no increased risk of adverse maternal or neonatal outcomes associated with birth ball use.